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Australia Day Honours for Associate Professor Stephen Bradshaw

To be included in the Australia Day Honours is a magnificent recognition of a lifetime of service to help make Australia a better place for all.

Distinguished ANU professors and high-profile alumni have been recognised for their contribution to Australian society in the 2017 Australia Day Honours.

Clinical Associate Professor Stephen Bradshaw has been recognised for significant service to medicine as a vascular surgeon, to health practitioner regulation, and to medical education.

"It's a great honour to receive this award," he said. "It's a reflection of the work done with the medical board to improve patient safety in the ACT and across the nation, and improve access to better medical care."

Emeritus Professor Larry Sitsky, a distinguished composer, pianist and teacher at the ANU School of Music, leads the honours by being appointed an Officer (AO) in the Order of Australia.

He is joined by Professor Jon Altman, the founding Director of the ANU Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR), Clinical Associate Professor Stephen Bradshaw from the ANU Medical School, and Associate Professor David Stanton from the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, who have all been appointed Members in the General Division (AM).

Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Harding congratulated all the winners on their awards.

"To be included in the Australia Day Honours is a magnificent recognition of a lifetime of service to help make Australia a better place for all," Professor Harding said.

"On behalf of the University, I congratulate Larry, Jon, Stephen and David for their contribution to the University, for being leaders in their respective fields and for helping to inspire the next generation of leaders.

"I also congratulate all ANU alumni and friends of the University who have been honoured on Australia Day."

Professor Sitsky was honoured for his distinguished service to the arts as a composer and concert pianist, to music education as a researcher and mentor, and through musical contributions to Australia's contemporary culture.

He said he was surprised at the honour, which came after a lifetime of compising, performing and teaching.

"It is always nice to get a pat on the back," said Professor Sitsky, who moved to Australia as a teenager in 1951.

He is a strong believer in being open to new ideas and areas of music, which carries through to his teaching philosophy. He is currently working on a new virtual opera.

"As a teacher, if you don't learn something from your students, you have failed. It is a two-way thing," he said.

Professor Altman, Emeritus Professor at the School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet), has been honoured for his significant service to tertiary education as a researcher and administrator, and to the social sciences and Indigenous economic policy.

"It's just terrific that CAEPR, which I consider a really important research centre looking at the difficult policy issue for Australia of Indigenous development, is still going strong and is proving sustainable," Professor Altman said.

"It is probably needed more now than ever. We have a political swing to populism at the moment, and scholarly research and hard evidence is urgently needed to help shape sensible policy.

"Getting this award is recognition that CAEPR has been and continues to be a valuable ANU project.

"I have championed Indigenous rights for 40 years with this work recognised on Australia Day. This is paradoxical, given the pain this day represents for most Indigenous Australians I know, and given that I believe it is an anachronism that needs to be addressed as soon as possible."

Associate Professor Stanton, who has been teaching Masters students at Crawford for 12 years, was recognised for distinguished service to public administration, to social policy development, and to academia.

"I've very much enjoyed the opportunity to teach after a long period in government and research organisation," he said. "I believe I've been able to help students understand the process of social policy and policy implementation.

"These sorts of rewards usually reflect teamwork, and I've been supported by a terrific team of talented people at Crawford and across the ANU. Social policy is spread right across the University.

"I'm appreciative of the support from ANU. It is a wonderful University."